Jim Ross Talks NXT, WWE WrestleMania, New Japan Pro Wrestling and More

Wrestling fans know Jim Ross as the legendary voice behind some of WWE’s most memorable matches, but the Hall of Famer has a new job as the play-by-play man for AXS TV’s coverage of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

While Ross hasn’t been a regular commentator in WWE for several years, wrestling fans still regard him as one of the greatest living announcers in the business. Whether people like New Japan Pro Wrestling or not, the allure of hearing Ross call play-by-play action again is enough to entice many fans into watching.

In addition to Ross’ work for AXS TV, he will also be ushering in WrestleMania 32 season by hosting his “Ringside with Jim Ross” events at the House of Blues in Dallas. With shows before and after WWE’s 2016 Hall of Fame ceremony and after Raw the following Monday, wrestling fans in the area for WrestleMania should be attending this unique experience.

Ross sat down with Ring Rust Radio to discuss his thoughts on NXT, WWE WrestleMania 32 and the predictability of the booking, his new career calling matches for New Japan Pro Wrestling and so much more.

Not only was Ross a key part of WWE’s commentary team for many years, but he was also one of the top executives when it came to talent relations. Now judging the company from an outside perspective, Ross spoke highly of the NXT brand and the job Triple H is doing behind the scenes:

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Paul Levesque and his staff, I can’t give enough credit to. William Regal for the scouting and tireless efforts he endures. He is really good at that and facilitates for guys that three or four years ago wouldn’t even have a chance to have a sandwich in the WWE, much less to be signed and have a chance to make an impact. Paul has done a real phenomenal job. I think he has looked at it and built it like an old-school territory in some ways.

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Ross believes the future is bright for WWE due to the success of NXT, but he also sees what the company is doing right now in preparation for WrestleMania. While many fans are complaining about the predictability of the main event scene, Ross does not worry about telling a story that’s easy to predict as long as it makes sense.

When asked about WrestleMania 32’s predictability, Ross spoke honestly:

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I’m not concerned with predictably. Are you going to watch WrestleMania? I know I am going to, so it doesn’t really affect if people will watch or not. I think the predictability is a topical thing in my opinion, as long as they focus on doing things right, fundamentally sound, logical and based in reality. When you find yourself writing in a reality-based atmosphere, then the surprise and little things that some people may want more of come about organically. Their biggest focus should be on getting new talent over and doing things right. They shouldn’t be going out of their way to surprise people whatsoever. That’s just me and my opinion.

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It’s always interesting to see how Ross feels about the current WWE product and where he sees it going in the future, but he is shifting gears toward focusing on New Japan Pro Wrestling as he fills in his new role as a play-by-play man again.

Ross spoke about the transition to New Japan on AXS and his excitement for his new job:

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I never retired from the wrestling play-by-play. I never found a place that was overly comfortable for hanging my hat, so wrote that off and I moved on and found other things. It’s just that the right opportunity that I felt most comfortable with hadn’t come along. In November we started talking to AXS about doing the Friday night New Japan show. I had done Wrestle Kingdom 9, and I have been watching a lot of New Japan Wrestling, I felt like my style would pair up favorably with their in-ring presentation. The travel was very conducive because I have no desire to get back into weekly travel. I tapped on that deal long ago. Going to L.A. eight or 10 times a year, those can be fun trips. The fact we’re doing three shows a day over a couple day period makes the travel very friendly. I like the fact that Adam Swift and AXS TV are very committed to building this brand much bigger than it is now on their network.

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While Ross won’t be calling matches for legends like the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin, wrestling fans will once again get to see him calling bouts for some of the top wrestlers in the world right now.

From Hiroshi Tanahashi to Kazuchika Okada, Ross will be lending his unique voice and decades of experience to some of the most intense and technical wrestling matches found anywhere on earth.

For those who have never watched New Japan before, AXS TV officials are hoping that hearing Ross calling the action will be enough to keep people coming back. Knowing how serious Ross takes his profession, his play-by-play should be amazing.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).